Meal of duck cut short (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'meal' is the definition.
(tea is a kind of meal)
'duck cut short' is the wordplay.
'duck' becomes 'teal' (teal is a kind of duck).
'cut short' means to remove the last letter.
'teal' with its last letter removed is 'TEA'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Infused beverage" , "Tisane" , "The cup that cheers but not inebriates" , "Early evening meal" , "Strangely, ate this drink" .)